Our first question to the president would be: What about the C-27J program at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport?

The Air National Guard base where Air Force One will land remains threatened by Obama’s proposed cuts to the military budget. With no replacement mission for the 179th, the cargo planes that served so valiantly in Afghanistan could be scrapped next year.

The cost to operate these planes — and staff the Air National Guard unit — is far lower than any alternative aircraft operated by our full-time military. We have proven the cost effectiveness of the 179th, yet the president’s military budget has proposed eliminating the aircraft and ending the 179th’s mission in Mansfield.

Beyond the threat to national security, Mansfield stands to lose nearly 1,000 jobs if the president gets his way.

So, Mr. President, please explain to the people of Mansfield why the U.S. government wants to eliminate such a worthwhile part of our community and nation.

The community has been in an all-out fight to save the 800 jobs connected to the Air National Guard base for months, and the president just visited the area in early July on a bus tour. But here’s Jay Carney answering the questions of the people of Mansfield:

REPORTER: “Can you talk a little bit about why the president is going back to the same area of Akron, Ohio tomorrow that he has visited before? And in Mansfield the local paper is reporting if President Obama has his way his Air Force One arrival would be one of the final flights into the Mansfield airport, because the president wants to do away with the mission for the 800 guardsmen at the Mansfield.”

WH Spokesman Jay Carney: “I’ll have to take the question, I’m not aware of that particular issue. In terms of why is he is going to Ohio and Akron –”

REPORTER: “But that area of Ohio, Mansfield and Akron, I mean he was just there on the bus tour.”

CARNEY: “There is not an inch of Ohio that the president does not love to visit. It’s a great state, my wife’s home state.”

REPORTER: “In terms of Mansfield, can we get you to take that question?”

CARNEY: “Sure. I’m not aware of even the policy implications or what issue this is.”

“After President (Barack) Obama ended the war in Iraq and began winding down our military presence in Afghanistan, Democrats and Republicans in Congress agreed to tough cuts in defense spending. Military leaders, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, developed a strategy for military restructuring that will impact the C-27J fleet, whose missions can also be fulfilled by the larger C-130 aircraft.

“That said, the president is committed to working with the Department of Defense to find a mission for Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, so that the men and women who serve there can continue to make their important contribution to our national security,” White House spokeswoman Joanna Rosholm said Tuesday night.

That answer implies the cut is part of sequestration, the cuts for which have yet to be outlined, but the C-27J program is one cited specifically by Obama, not the sequestration process, as “unnecessary.”

Next, Mr. President, we are looking for any insight you might have regarding the sale of the former General Motors plant in Ontario.

The once-vital part of our community provided several thousand jobs. When the plant was idled, the jobs vanished, but the workers remained in our community, ready for whatever might take GM’s place. To date, nothing has. The federally managed trust overseeing the sale of the plant continues to say a sale is close.

We are assuming the president has some idea of what is going on about the pending sale, and we would like him to tell us what it might mean to the future of our community.

The Romney campaign tries to tap into some of that rancor with its new ad, “Dream,” which features an Ohio GM dealership owner closed down when the government took over the company:

VIDEO TEXT: “Al Zarzour”

VIDEO TEXT: “Lyndhurst, OH”

AL ZARZOUR: “Grew up here in Lyndhurst, started 1972, selling cars.”

VOICEOVER: “In 2009, under the Obama Administration’s bailout of General Motors, Ohio dealerships were forced to close.”

ZARZOUR: “I received a letter from General Motors. They were suspending my credit line. We had thirty-some employees that were out of work.

ZARZOUR: “My wife and I were the last ones there. You know, it was like the dream that we worked for, and that we worked so hard for, was gone.”

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The Air National Guard base where Air Force One will land remains threatened by Obama’s proposed cuts to the military budget. With no replacement mission for the 179th, the cargo planes that served so valiantly in Afghanistan could be scrapped next year.

The C-27 is one of the newest planes we have. Why cut it?
And it can’t be replaced by the larger (and much, much older) C-130. It was actually intended to replace the smaller C-23 Sherpa. I don’t think I could take another ride in a Sherpa.
By the way, did anyone else get a laugh out of the press release that says Obama ended the Iraq war, while congress agreed to cut defense spending?

I told everyone that there’s a reason he’s staying north of Mansfield when he visits Ohio. He tried to go to Cincinnati recently and I’m guessing it didn’t go too well since he went back to Akron afterward.

And now he seems to be losing Mansfield. Yet there are still delusional people that actually believe Obama will win Ohio? Sorry, but I have a very strong connection to Ohio and he’s not winning Ohio.

My son is one of the almost 1000 people employed at the Mansfield base. Their future continues to be uncertain as the wheels of government slowly grind toward a decision. As for Obama working with the DOD, don’t make us laugh, we’re not holding our breath here in the Buckeye State.

I should also add that the irony wasn’t lost on those that work there. The first response wasn’t excitement or pride that their base was being used, it was disgust with a president so out of touch that he didn’t even know what he was doing.

They’ve just released another one directed for Ohioians called “Time For A Change”.

Guarantee you it will have DWS and Stephanie Cutter’s panties in a bunch in 5..4..3..

Flora Duh on August 1, 2012 at 10:36 AM

It’s a good ad, but some of the white numbers blend into the bright sky and are unreadable. The Romney campaign needs to make sure the text color contrasts with the background color if this goes on TV.

Note (Ed): Through a miscommunication, we published a post from Dustin that was clearly not ready to go and had it up for about 20 minutes. I’ve pulled it back into draft. I apologize for the error.

Are you kidding? Actually it was nice have a condensed post from Dustin, that guy is like the guy who loves to hear himself talk. Dustin must sit back and read all of his posts and say “I have so much to say, I must be brilliant”…
Please, teach him to be more concise…more words are not an indication of knowledge, just the opposite.

I told everyone that there’s a reason he’s staying north of Mansfield when he visits Ohio. He tried to go to Cincinnati recently and I’m guessing it didn’t go too well since he went back to Akron afterward.

Remember his first “official” re-election speech at a half-empty tOSU field?

And now he seems to be losing Mansfield. Yet there are still delusional people that actually believe Obama will win Ohio? Sorry, but I have a very strong connection to Ohio and he’s not winning Ohio.

MobileVideoEngineer on August 1, 2012 at 10:50 AM

Anyone like Obama should not have to keep visiting sure-fire safe Dem territory like Lorain, Elyria, Cleveland and Akron and have us not get the impression that something’s seriously wrong.

He wasn’t booed at OSU. He hasn’t the testicle to set foot in Stillwater……

Tenwheeler on August 1, 2012 at 12:51 PM

Sorry, I should have spelled it out, but I didn’t think I would need to. We were talking about Ohio, the other poster mentioned tOSU (i.e. The Ohio State University) so I was talking about tOSU. I’m old school, I’ve called it OSU since I started following them in football and having been born in Columbus, that would be basically from birth (almost 30 years ago).

I like the way ABC fails to mention the fact that he’s the WH Press Sec in their reference to the generic “husband Jay Carney”. A reputable organization would have it bolded and italicized that there is a blatant conflict of interest, in the interest of full disclosure.

I told everyone that there’s a reason he’s staying north of Mansfield when he visits Ohio. He tried to go to Cincinnati recently and I’m guessing it didn’t go too well since he went back to Akron afterward.

And now he seems to be losing Mansfield. Yet there are still delusional people that actually believe Obama will win Ohio? Sorry, but I have a very strong connection to Ohio and he’s not winning Ohio.

MobileVideoEngineer on August 1, 2012 at 10:50 AM

If you go to the News Journal’s website, you’ll see the people are happy that he’s going there.

This entire post is precisely what’s wrong with having a military-industrial complex as a cornerstone of the economy.

KMC1 on August 1, 2012 at 1:10 PM

Except the Mansfield economy was built on manufacturing jobs. Starting in the 70’s with the closures of Mansfield Tire, Tappan, Westinghouse, Empire-Detroit Steel, Ohio Brass and finally GM the area lost thousands of jobs that weren’t involved with the military.

Sorry, I should have spelled it out, but I didn’t think I would need to. We were talking about Ohio, the other poster mentioned tOSU (i.e. The Ohio State University) so I was talking about tOSU. I’m old school, I’ve called it OSU since I started following them in football and having been born in Columbus, that would be basically from birth (almost 30 years ago).

MobileVideoEngineer on August 1, 2012 at 1:01 PM

I knew what you meant. I’ve always heard it referred to as Ohio State. Started watching college football when Woody was still coach, a tad more than thiry years ago.

Howver, my comment about lack of testosterone fruit still stands.
I would bet all that orange would give him chills and start him thnking of bars, and beltless pants, etc…

I grew up on Air Force bases prior to serving in the USMC myself. Let me say this very slowly, so the people of Mansfield can understand it: THE US MILITARY IS NOT A JOBS PROGRAM FOR YOUR COMMUNITY.

I spent my youth living in communities which more often than not were represented by Democratic congressmen, where people whined about the noise from the planes, we even had people asking if the USAF could MOVE THE RUNWAY! They regularly voted for legislators who would cut defense spending any which-way they could, then started wailing and gnashing their teeth when it was suggested that “THEIR” base (meaning Federal cash cow) might get closed. If the JCS determines that closing the base in Mansfield will result in more effective use of taxpayer dollars for the security of our nation, then close the damn base down, I couldn’t care less.

This entire post is precisely what’s wrong with having a military-industrial complex as a cornerstone of the economy.

KMC1 on August 1, 2012 at 1:10 PM

This is ridiculous….let’s get serious, we export a lot of the ‘military industrial complex’ stuff/products, that brings money to the economy, what would you sell/export please and be competitive in the face of China, enlighten us…on any other type of manufacturing we can’t compete with them,, they will do it cheaper, and then we’ll end up exporting what, hot air???….

But it isn’t boots on the ground that will be waiting for [Obama in Florida].

Flora Duh on August 1, 2012 at 10:48 AM

Not boots, but butts. Plus-sized or petite, plump or scrawny, white, tan, brown, black, red, tattooed, sunburned, freckled… all proudly lined up and exposed to the presidential motorcade for miles and miles and miles.

The planes were purchased to fill a very small niche — deliveries in Afghanistan’s terrain. Now that the U.S. is pulling out of Afghanistan, their niche is gone.

AngusMc on August 1, 2012 at 3:36 PM

Maybe they can use them to fly supplies into those seven extra states. I mean, if all of the other 50 take up the entire area of the United States, these have to be some pretty small states, hence the need for small delivery vehicles….

If the base truly does serve a mission that cannot be performed more cheaply elsewhere by consolidation with another base then it should be closed. It is purpose of neither the DoE nor the DoD to employ people. Employment by government should be based on the need to employ people to accomplish the mission, not the needs of the job market. Quoting Uncle Miltie, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The money that government spends to hire people is money that it must first extract from the private economy, reducing the real economy’s ability to hire.

REPORTER: “But that area of Ohio, Mansfield and Akron, I mean he was just there on the bus tour.”

Answer: with O’JugEars’ approval numbers cratering, POTUS will not risk going where there will not be a polite crowd (military disciple and respect, ya know). Besides, he’s still brimming with the same level of confidence as when he and Oprah virtually assured Chicago of the Olympics…um, he merely needs to ‘tell his story’ and then the electorate will love him again..